Go Miners!

[Tio]

17-3, we are gonna win the wac!

 

[silverbear]

17-3, we are gonna win the wac!

We've got another Miner on the board?? Kewl...

I spent two years at UTEP in the early 70s... majored in golf, minored in Juarez (or maybe it was the other way around)... quit school to turn pro...

We stand a better than average chance of winning the WAC in our final year in that conference, inasmuch as we're currently tied with Nevada, and have already beat them on their own floor...

It's finally fun to be a Miners fan again... even though they lost their bowl game this year, at least the got to a bowl game for a change... I like the looks of Carson Palmer's kid brother...

 

[Tio]

We've got another Miner on the board?? Kewl...

I spent two years at UTEP in the early 70s... majored in golf, minored in Juarez (or maybe it was the other way around)... quit school to turn pro...

We stand a better than average chance of winning the WAC in our final year in that conference, inasmuch as we're currently tied with Nevada, and have already beat them on their own floor...

It's finally fun to be a Miners fan again... even though they lost their bowl game this year, at least the got to a bowl game for a change... I like the looks of Carson Palmer's kid brother...

True, football wasn't that bad either. Kris Palmer is pretty good, but didn't we get some top recruit out of socal recently? I don't pay as much attention to our recruits for some reason, but all my buddies are telling me to watch out for this kid.

I love price, but being perfectly honest with myself, he is gonna ditch us the second he gets an oportunity at a big time school.

 

[silverbear]

True, football wasn't that bad either. Kris Palmer is pretty good,

Uhhh, that's JORDAN Palmer, my new-found friend...

but didn't we get some top recruit out of socal recently? I don't pay as much attention to our recruits for some reason, but all my buddies are telling me to watch out for this kid.

I don't follow college recruiting that closely, but I do think I remember some highly regarded RB from La-La Land had transferred to UTEP last year...

I love price, but being perfectly honest with myself, he is gonna ditch us the second he gets an oportunity at a big time school.

Yup, that's how it'll work... we lost a pretty good basketball coach last year in exactly that way...

BTW, are you as fired up as I am to see the movie about Don Haskins that's gonna be hitting the theaters in the next few months?? That may be the first time I've seen the inside of a movie theater in about 10 years, but I wanna see that one just as soon as I possibly can...

 

[Tio]

Uhhh, that's JORDAN Palmer, my new-found friend...

We need a brain fart smiley...

I don't follow college recruiting that closely, but I do think I remember some highly regarded RB from La-La Land had transferred to UTEP last year...

Yeah, we got him last year. We haven't made a big splash in recruiting yet this year. I visit rivals.com to get the recruiting info.

Yup, that's how it'll work... we lost a pretty good basketball coach last year in exactly that way...

I was so pissed when I found out he left us. I was depressed, I thought we were going somewhere, but I think we started out better this year than last (with a few too many close games I might add)

BTW, are you as fired up as I am to see the movie about Don Haskins that's gonna be hitting the theaters in the next few months?? That may be the first time I've seen the inside of a movie theater in about 10 years, but I wanna see that one just as soon as I possibly can

There is gonna be a movie about him? Sweet!

BTW, do you live in the sun city?

 

[silverbear]

I was so pissed when I found out he left us. I was depressed, I thought we were going somewhere, but I think we started out better this year than last (with a few too many close games I might add)

Yeah, the Miners have become regular cardiac kids... LOL... the only game they've lost in their last 14 or 15 was when somebody threw up an off-balance 30 footer at the buzzer... IIRC, their last 5 games have been decided by 3 points or less...

There is gonna be a movie about him? Sweet!

Sure is... of course, the emphasis will be on the 1966 national championship, when he started an all-black starting 5 against Adolph Rupp's powerhouse Kentucky team, which still didn't have ANY black ballplayers...

Again IIRC, Ben Affleck is gonna be playing the Bear... he might have to pull a DeNiro, and put on about 50 pounds for the role...

BTW, do you live in the sun city?

I grew up there, back in the 60s... lived on Tropicana Avenue, 4905 to be exact... Terrace Hills Elementary School was directly across the street, they built it while we were living there (it was desert when we first moved in)... the last year we lived there, I went to Andress High School the first year it opened...

If you're familiar with El Paso, you know how long ago that was... LOL...

I went back there to college for 2 years, then turned pro (golf, club pro type) and quit school... haven't been back to El Paso since, and that's been over 30 years ago... in fact, the only time I've been back to Texas at all was in 1992, when I made the holy pilgrimage to Texas Stadium for the season-opening Monday nighter against the Skins... that was a 40th birthday present from the family, and I was in the Metroplex for 4 fun-filled days...

Deep in my soul, though, I'm still a Texan... but if I can't live in God's country, the Shenandoah Valley is a nice second choice... the only other place I might consider living would be Oregon... I have lots of family there, and really loved it when I visited for a family reunion... yeah, I could live there...

 

[silverbear]

Update-- the Miners ran their record to 20-6 Wednesday night, beating San Jose State on their floor... the previous Saturday, they pretty much ensured that they would not be winning the WAC, dropping a heartbreaker to Nevada at home, putting Nevada 2 games up (earlier in the season, the Miners won a nail-biter at Nevada)...

The Miners' next 2 games are toughies, at Pacific Saturday night, then at Hawaii on Monday night... the Pacific game will be broadcast live on ESPN, starting at midnight Eastern time...

They are currently 14-0 in games in which they score 70 points or more...

 

[Tio]

Update-- the Miners ran their record to 20-6 Wednesday night, beating San Jose State on their floor... the previous Saturday, they pretty much ensured that they would not be winning the WAC, dropping a heartbreaker to Nevada at home, putting Nevada 2 games up (earlier in the season, the Miners won a nail-biter at Nevada)...

The Miners' next 2 games are toughies, at Pacific Saturday night, then at Hawaii on Monday night... the Pacific game will be broadcast live on ESPN, starting at midnight Eastern time...

They are currently 14-0 in games in which they score 70 points or more...

Im still hurting from that nevada loss...Unfortunately I don't think will be going to the tournament unless we make a major run...which includes beating these two teams...

 

[silverbear]

Im still hurting from that nevada loss...Unfortunately I don't think will be going to the tournament unless we make a major run...which includes beating these two teams...

Barring a collapse of biblical proportions, the Miners are the next best thing to a lock for the NCAA tournament...

 

[jacs]

Barring a collapse of biblical proportions, the Miners are the next best thing to a lock for the NCAA tournament...

if they dont win their division or the WAC tournament it will be hard for them to get in

 

[Tio]

Barring a collapse of biblical proportions, the Miners are the next best thing to a lock for the NCAA tournament...

Meh...I don't think we have a great shot without the wac title...

 

[silverbear]

Meh...I don't think we have a great shot without the wac title...

C'mon, even if the Miners lose their next 2 games against Pacific and Hawaii, they wind up with 3 home games against teams they should be able to handle... they will have between 22 and 24 wins going into the WAC tournament... assuming at least a win in the first round of that tourney, that puts them at 23 to 25 wins on the season...

And that will suffice to earn them an NCAA bid... what, do you think the WAC will only send one team to the big dance this year??

I repeat, the Miners will have to absolutely tank the rest of the way to wind up in the NIT...

 

[silverbear]

if they dont win their division or the WAC tournament it will be hard for them to get in

I'll tell you what, give me a list of the teams in the WAC that might be considered for tournament play, and their records... I'm betting you can't, that you're not really "up" on the WAC this season... and if you can't, you'll excuse me if I take issue with your characterization of their chances...

To save you some time, the Miners stand second in the WAC with a 10-4 conference record and a 20-6 record overall... Nevada is 12-2 in the conference, and 19-5 overall...

There is no other team in the conference with more than 15 wins on the season, or better than an 8-6 record in conference... as a result, the only way any other team besides UTEP or Nevada can hope to earn a bid to the tournament is to win the conference tourney, which just happens to be on Nevada's home court...

It has been a very long time since the WAC has failed to send more than one team to the big dance, so the ONLY way I could see the Miners being aced out is if a team besides themselves and Nevada wins the WAC tournament... and even then, I wouldn't be shocked to see a Division I team with 23-25 wins get an at-large bid...

So just for the record, I fully expect the Miners to finish second in the WAC in the regular season, behind Nevada, and even though they beat Nevada on their home floor earlier in the season, I think it will be kinda tough for them to beat the Wolfpack again on their home floor for the tournament title... and I STILL expect them to earn an NCAA bid, barring a late-season collapse that I really don't expect...

Feel free to remind me of this prediction in a couple-three weeks...

 

[jacs]

im not saying that they suckbut conferences like WAC, Mountain West, etc dont get respect and normally only send the conference champions and the tournament winners so it will be very hard for them to get in IF they do not win one of those.

 

[silverbear]

im not saying that they suckbut conferences like WAC, Mountain West, etc dont get respect and normally only send the conference champions and the tournament winners

Let's look at the numbers for the recent past:

In 2000-2001, Fresno State won the WAC regular season, with a 26-7 record... Hawaii won the tournament, and thus got an NCAA bid... Fresno State got the second bid... left out were 26-11 Tulsa, and 23-9 UTEP...

In 2001-2002, Hawaii won the WAC regular season and the tournament, with a 27-6 record... Tulsa got an invite on the strength of their 27-7 record and second place finish... Louisiana Tech was on the outside looking in with a 22-10 record...

In 2002-2003, it was a down year for the WAC, and only Tulsa got an invite after winning both the regular season and the WAC tournament, posting a 23-10 record... the next best record in the conference was Fresno State's 20-8 record, which was not good enough to get them in...

And last year, Nevada won both the regular season and the tournament, posting a 25-9 record... UTEP got the second bid with a 24-8 record... left out were 3 teams-- Boise State (23-10), Rice (22-11) and Hawaii (21-12)...

So, except for the one year when the WAC absolutely stunk, they have put two teams in the NCAA tournament each year... in addition, they have sent a team that was neither the regular season champion nor the tourney champ twice in those 4 years (Tulsa in 2001 and UTEP last year)... it also seems that over the last 4 seasons, only one WAC team has won as many as 24 games and NOT been in the field of 64... that was mostly because Hawaii won the WAC, after finishing down in the pack in the regular season...

UTEP stands at 20-6, with 5 regular season games and at least one WAC tournament game to go... given that their first WAC tournament game will be against either the 7th seed or the 10th seed, it is not unreasonable to project them to win at least that game, meaning they likely have a minimum of 7 games remaining... winning 4 of them puts them at 24-9, and I stand firm in my conviction that that will be sufficient to earn them a spot in the NCAA tournament...

And if they don't win at least 4 of their final 7 games, well, that's what I mean by tanking the rest of the season, and they won't deserve to be in the big dance...